Today I am feeling sick. And it's snowing. So I decided to make myself some chicken and dumpling soup. While I was pulling out the ingredients I realized I could make the dumplings sourdough which goes along quite well with my last post on how to make your own sourdough starter!
This is a perfect way to "feed" the starter. Make something small and then replenish the starter with more flour and water.
So, without further delay, here is the recipe!
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Homemade chicken and sourdough-dumpling soup
Ingredients for the soup base:
Cooking oil or fat such as butter or coconut oil
2 chicken breasts (either boneless or bone-in)
2 sticks celery, finely diced
1 leek, thinly sliced (you can also substitute one onion, finely diced)
2 large carrots, thinly sliced
1 medium potato, diced
2 cloves minced garlic
1 quart bone broth or chicken stock
1 quart water
2 bay leaves
(optional) 1 tablespoon each chopped dill and/or parsley
In a large soup pot that has a lid, warm 2 tablespoons of your cooking fat over medium-high heat. Add chicken breasts and sear until the outsides are golden brown. Remove chicken from the pot and add the celery, onion, carrots, potato and garlic and sautee until soft. Add the broth, water, bay leaves and chicken breasts. Bring to a boil and cook about 10 minutes, until the potatoes are nearly done. Reduce heat and let the soup simmer while you are making the dumplings.
Ingredients for the dumplings:
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup sourdough starter
2 tablespoons oil or melted butter
1 egg
In a medium bowl, gently mix all ingredients together. Do not over-mix. You want the dough to hold together but not be too smooth.
Before adding the dumplings, shred the chicken breasts in a small bowl and return chicken meat to the soup.
Then, using a spoon and your fingers, form small teaspoon size balls from the dough and drop the balls into the simmering soup base. Place the lid on the pot and let simmer for fifteen to twenty minutes, until doubled and tender. You will probably see the balls rising to the top, make sure to resist the urge to stir the soup while you are simmering the dough otherwise they won't hold together and your soup will end up looking like a cream-based soup without the formed dumplings.
Once the dumplings are cooked, add the optional dill and/or parsley and taste the soup. Add salt and pepper as needed. Enjoy!
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I hope everyone else is feeling good! Let me know if you try the soup recipe, too!